The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My Rating: 5 stars

Hazel’s life has been planned out. Her diagnosis controlled her life and a tumor-shrinking medical miracle kept added a few more years to her lifetime. Hazel had cancer. She was fighting a war against it, and she knew that in the end the cancer would eventually win. Her parents – whom have spent most of their lives at home taking care of her – force her to join a cancer support group, in which she meets seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player and amputee. Then, her life is completely rewritten. Together, they face some of life’s most important aspects: family, friendship, life, love, and most importantly, what happens after death.
The Fault in Our Stars is, without a doubt, John Green’s best book to date. Forget about Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska. They are no competition when compared to this book. It is unlike anything that John Green has ever written before. Green himself said that the title was inspired by a quote from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar (Act 1, scene, 2) : “’The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.’”
Although this book is about cancer, it’s not really a “cancer book.” As Hazel stated herself in the novel, “cancer books suck.” This book isn’t necessarily about death either. The threat of cancer and inevitability of death was used as a vehicle to move along the development of Hazel and Augustus. After all, without either of the two, neither of them would have met each other in the first place. Hazel and Augustus are both such complex, relatable and intelligent characters. Both of their journeys together are heartbreaking, yet beautiful.
The Fault in Our Stars is a book filled with a wide range of emotions. There were moments in which I was smiling, laughing and even some moments where I was choking back tears. This book is a heart-wrenching adventure from cover to cover.